A Woman Like Me by Diane Abbott: 'curiously bloodless' or a memoir to 'inspire'?

The trailblazing MP sheds light on her romance with Jeremy Corbyn – but skims over his flaws as a politician

Diane Abbott addressing a crowd of supporters.
The 'defiant title' of Abbott's book 'slyly mocks' her critics
(Image credit: Getty / Alishia Abodunde / Stringer)

Readers seeking "juicy political gossip" won't find it in Diane Abbott's memoir, "A Woman Like Me", said Gaby Hinsliff in The Guardian. But "whatever you make" of Britain's first Black female MP, her "absorbing" new book reveals a lifetime of "astonishing resilience".

From the "overtly racist Britain of her childhood" to the many rejections she "battled through" before eventually winning the Hackney seat for Labour in 1987, Abbott's "rich and complex" memoir offers a "fascinating insight" into everything she overcame to become the "flawed but compelling" politician she is today.

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Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.